Glossier is officially reopening its stores and a new permanent London spot

Last March, Glossier closed all temporary and permanent shop locations around the world due to COVID-19 safety precautions. And though #FriendsofGlossier is all but a fond memory, now, our prayers have finally been answered: Glossier has announced its long-awaited return to retail.

In a blog post on Glossier’s website, founder Emily Weiss described the beauty brand’s reopening plans after a year of digital sales only. “Our team…slowly faced the reality that Glossier retail, a communal experience that often drew lines down the block, wouldn’t reopen until being together was safe again,” said the founder. “Now, as parts of the world begin to emerge from the worst of the pandemic, the world of Glossier is ready to exist again in 3D.”

According to the post, the launch will include three brand-new permanent store openings: Seattle in August, Los Angeles in the fall, and London in the winter. London follows it’s super successful pop-up shop, and marks its first international flagship space.

“We’re returning to places and communities we know and love: our new home in Los Angeles isn’t far from our former location on Melrose Place. In Seattle… our store design plays with the juxtaposition of nature and technology. In London, we’ll be following our most successful temporary store of all time with our first-ever permanent international flagship,” explained Weiss. “Each of these stores is designed to inspire everyone to find joy and confidence in their personal beauty style, with a customer journey centred around self-discovery and belonging.”

Following reports of performativity amid ‘anti-Blackness, transphobia, ableism, and retaliation’ from a collective of former Glossier employees last August, Weiss stated that the new retail spaces will centre ‘people first, products second’. According to Glossier’s Instagram, the company has held over 90 conversations with former employees, leading to updated employee training and a new code of conduct rooted in ‘authenticity, integrity, inclusion, equity, and empathy’.

Last year, Glossier launched an initiative to support Black-owned beauty businesses in the form of $500K worth of grants. The programme, alongside a $500K donation to organisations fighting racial injustice, was part of a larger commitment from the brand to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in the beauty industry. The 16 recipients of the grants were revealed in September 2020.

Glossier previously had a temporary space in the UK at a dreamy venue in London’s Covent Garden – the brand witnessed wild success from the space, which has bolstered its latest move. The pop-up served over 100,000 visitors in just 10 weeks, and also had the highest average daily sales of any of Glossier’s IRL experientials.

So far, specifics of the three stores remain unknown. We’d expect them to sell all of the cult faves – from Skin Tint and its Jelly Cleanser to Lid Star and Boy Brow – as well as it’s most recent releases, like the Cleanser Concentrate. Until then, we’ll be dreaming of picking up all our Glossier bits from another cuter than cute London space.